Editorials

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Clear and frank

By: Editorial

Posted: 02/2/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Foreign Minister John Baird Tuesday publicly and unequivocally reaffirmed Canada's support for Israel in the Mideast conflict. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority must resume immediately and without conditions, he told an Israeli audience in a speech that praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hard line on the peace talks.

This comes as no real surprise to Canadians who have watched the evolution of their foreign policy from the diffidence of previous Liberal governments to the hard pro-Israel stance under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Neither, after talks between Mr. Baird and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, would the comments have come as any surprise to the Palestinians and their supporters in Canada. Mr. Baird was blunt in his advice to Mr. Abbas: Abandon the initiative to have the United Nations recognize Palestine as a state; publicly acknowledge Israel's right to exist; resume negotiations with Israel over borders and statehood without preconditions. Except for some muted reservations about Israel's settlement policies, Canada has effectively embraced the Israeli position.

It is one thing to say these things, to lay claim to these policies in a domestic political display. Palestinian leaders understand that in a democracy politicians often play to their gallery of voters -- and 48 per cent of Canadians support their government's Mideast policy -- but they may talk with a different tongue at the negotiating table.

Canada, unlike any other Western nation, laid everything out when Mr. Baird met Mr. Abbas on Monday. Rather than being angry -- although Palestinian Prime Minister Riad Maliki did characterize the talks as "clear and frank," a euphemism for tense -- the Palestinian leadership generally seemed rather relieved. One official described Mr. Baird's comments as refreshing: "There's no mistaking where he stands." Negotiations toward an Israeli-Palestinian peace might proceed more effectively if everyone were as clear and frank as Mr. Baird was this week.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 2, 2012 A10

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